Arizona weekly enterprise., 1887-12-17

| ui1iOus iOr reSJOfdClOu to perlecC Hoditn. The dry and warm atmosphere soothes their ailments, and the ability to con stantly exercise in the open air very speedily restores them to perfect health. | Thls advantage over the damp and chil- ling seashore should commend itself to the earnest consideration of every health seeker
 FOR HOMES.
 There Is probably no better oppor- tunity i'll the West fol people of moder- ate means to acquire homes and com petence than ill the Gila Valley. The price of land Is now low, and much of 1t can be had at the established Govern meiIt price. Improved land, with water rights, are held at prices ranging from $25 to $50 per acre, and highly improved tracts are worth much more. The rapid growth of every species of plant and tree will very soon surround home with all ] the beauty that foliage and flower can | bestow, and in three or four years, one can transform barren tract of waste into q more cosy and inviting home than could be created ill dozen years Ill the | States.
 FOR INVESTMENT.
 The assurance that the value of every species of real estate will increase ill rapid ratio during the next few years suggests l to the shrewd and sagacious speculator brilliant opportunity of increasing his store of wealth without any risk of loss whatever. Both town and ranch proper ty present rare opportunities for invest ment or speculation, the basis of their l rhafa ofo of their yearly returns.
 PRE- HISTORIC PEOPLE.
 There are evidences of extensive ruins of towns of considerable size and pre- tensions adjacent to Florence, and the meandering of their old canals and reser voirs may still be traced for miles upon either side of the Gila River. Some of their editces were of grand proportions, the most remarkable being the old Casa Grande, whose magnificent ruins are an object of curiosity to strangers who visit ! Florence. When Coronado led his fam ous expedition Morthward m 1540, these ruins were even then ruins, being four s,orles high with walls six feet in thick ness. Other buildings surrounding them had entirely crumbled down to mere mounds of earth, showing conclusively the antiquity of the old castle and it's probable original dimensions. At that time the Pima Indians who were living ill that vicinity had no tradition relat- ing to the builders of the huge structure, nor of the people who formerly inhabited this valley. They were certainly su- perior race, and not only were they skill ed in the manufacture of hard and dur able concrete of which they constructed thelr mausoleums and built their walls, but they were thorough agriculturists, and their old canals and reservoirs also show them to have been possessed of no mean degree of engineering skill. Who they were, how they fourished, and whither they departed, are questions that may never be answered, but their tombs are giving the savants a slight clue that may serve to identify them with some of the living tribes who have retrograded in | the scaleof civilization since those days of peace and plenty. Their cities and their lands, left to decay and ruin, eventually became objects of curiosity only to those who came after them, and finally succumb- ed to the oblit erating influences of ages. GENERAL INFORMATION. | Good stage accommodations are furn ished from Casa Grande, the railroad station, to Florence, distance of twenty | five miles. When requested to do so, the stage will make short detour past the interesting ruins of Casa Grande, the prehistoric castle, situated six miles west of Florence
 The town of Pinal, where the Silver King mill is located, is thirty miles from Florence, in northerly direction. The famous mine is five miles beyond Pinal.
 FoGs are almost unknown in the Gila Valley. Perhaps once or twice year a light fog comes up from the Gulf of Cali foraaia, but it seldom lasts more than few hours.
 There are no falling dews at night, and the most feeble invalid can sleep out doors during the summer season without the least detriment to his health.
 railroad will certainly reach Florence before the close of the year 1888, when the valley will enjoy all the advantages a connection with the great southwestern system of rail transportation can give